Assessment of the Falkland Islands population of Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi.

Spanish vessels fish for the Argentine hake, Merluccius hubbsi both in Falkland Islands Conservation Zones and in high seas waters along the shelf edge to the north of the islands. Data are collected by the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department, Instituto Español de Oceanografía and Asociación Nacional de Armadores de Buques Congeladores de Pesca de Merluza. Data from these three sources were combined, with the aim of producing assessments of M. hubbsi. There was no relationship between abundance indices for Falkland Islands waters and high seas areas, suggesting little interaction between the populations in the two areas. Virtual population analysis suggested that the spawning stock biomass in Falklands waters declined from approximately 60,000 t in 1987 to about 15,000 t in the early 1990s but has since made a partial recovery to approximately 20,000 t. However, low recruitment levels are, apparently, impeding the recovery of the population. The abundance trend contrasts with a continued decline suggested by assessments of the population in Argentine waters, implying some independence of the adult populations in the two areas. Nonetheless, it is likely that recruitment to the population is affected by processes not explained by the available data

Overview of the Spanish fisheries in the Patagonian Shelf

The fishing grounds of the Patagonian Shelf support some of the most important fisheries in the world. The great abundance of marine resources among parallels 35º and 54º South, is associated with the Subtropical Convergence formed by the Brazil and Falkland/Malvinas currents. The mixing of the flow of La Plata River and the western branch of the Falkland/Malvinas Current generates areas of high plankton production on the shelf. Hakes (Merluccius hubbsi and Merluccius australis) and cephalopods (Illex argentinus and Loligo gahi) have been found the main commercial species, with important amounts of accompanying species in the catches such as Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), Kingclip (Genypterus blacodes), Hoki (Macruronus magellanicus), Red cod (Salilota australis), Southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis), etc. These fisheries are currently among the most important to the Spanish bottom trawler freezing fleet that has around 40 vessels fishing in this area, besides another 20 that operate in joint ventures sailing Falkland flag. It is estimated that this fleet generates approximately 2,000 direct offshore jobs, and more than 10,000 indirect onshore jobs. This paper presents results from the EC Study Project 99/016 “Data collection for stock assessment of two hakes (Merluccius hubbsi and M. australis) in international and Falkland waters of the SW Atlantic”. Historical fishery and biological data series available from the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) and the Falkland Islands Fishery Department (FIFD) were used during the project to describe fishing patterns and spatio-temporal changes in the abundance and distribution of target and accompanying species, as well as to give an overview of these important fisheries